Secrets to Keep (32 page)

A disappointed Aidy watched her glide out, the skirt of her silk habit swishing as she walked. She fully appreciated the reasons put forward to deny her request, but was determined not to let this setback stop her from earning a better life for the kids, Gran and herself. She would do what Sister suggested, ask around and keep her fingers crossed it wouldn’t take too long to uncover someone willing to give up their time in this way.

‘I could help you, dear.’

Aidy turned her head to see a middle-aged woman sitting close by. The surgery had been very heavily attended that morning and, in her need to speak to Sister Teresa, she had forgotten there were still several patients waiting their turn to see the doctor.

The woman smiled apologetically at her. ‘I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, love, it was difficult not to hear
what was being said, sitting so close to you. But if it’s learning some basic nursing skills yer after, then I could help you with that, if you’d like me to? I was a nurse in the last war, you see, gave it up when I got married, but I don’t suppose things have changed much since I trained. I could give you an hour or two one afternoon a week, if that’s all right with you?’

All right with her! Aidy didn’t know how she stopped herself from jumping up and running across to give the woman a hug of gratitude. She eagerly asked, ‘Can we start this afternoon?’

The woman smiled. ‘I’ll look out me old nursing bag as soon as I get back home.’

Now, as Aidy looked around at the mess she’d arrived home to find, she was conscious that Sadie Billson was expecting her shortly to begin her lessons so she really hadn’t time to tidy the place up, but her conscience wouldn’t allow her to leave it for her grandmother to come home to. Her father really was selfish. He had no consideration for his family whatsoever. If it weren’t for the fact that his name was on the rent book, he’d have no right to be living here and forcing them to put up with him like this. But unless he officially gave up the tenancy himself there was nothing they could do to change this sorry state of affairs.

T
y did not often make mistakes in medical matters, and when he did he admitted them, if only to himself. The mistake he had made today was not lifethreatening, but it could delay the healing of Nell Crosby’s ulcerated leg.

Arriving in the waiting room, he found Aidy putting on her coat to go home for her afternoon break. She had been going one afternoon a week to Sadie Billson’s house for over a month, and under Sadie’s patient tutelage could now properly apply a bandage to different areas of the body so that it remained in place and secure. Sadie was instructing her how to clean a wound this afternoon and Aidy was anxious to get off because, before she was due there at three, she had shopping to buy on the way. On the afternoons Aidy was with Sadie, Bertha usually did the shopping, but couldn’t today as a neighbour had had a death in the family and Bertha
had offered her services to prepare food for the funeral tea the next day.

Ty addressed his receptionist in his usual stiff manner. ‘I do respect the fact that it’s your afternoon breaktime, Mrs Nelson, but I’d appreciate it if you’d drop this in to Mrs Nell Crosby’s house.’ He put a small pot on her desk.

Aidy knew Nell Crosby well. She was a regular customer of her grandmother’s. Aidy had been present when Nell had called on Bertha for something for her leg when it had first started causing her problems, but on inspecting the open wound that wasn’t healing, Bertha had advised her she thought it to be ulcerous and to consult the doctor over it as none of her potions was strong enough heal it.

Ty was telling Aidy, ‘Sister Teresa needs it to treat Mrs Crosby’s leg. Mrs Crosby is her last call for today so if you go straight away you should be there before Nurse is.’ He then put a small bulky brown envelope on the desk beside the pot. It was Aidy’s pay packet.

With that, he turned and walked out of the room.

As she picked up the pot and her pay, Aidy realised Doc had obviously forgotten to include the pot with the other medical supplies he had handed her to put in the bag for the nun that morning. He wouldn’t openly admit his oversight to her because then he wouldn’t feel he could fairly chastise her should she
ever err in a similar fashion. It seemed she was not even being given a choice whether or not to take the ointment in her own time but was expected to, as Ty had left without waiting for her reply.

Aware that Nell Crosby’s ulcerated leg was very painful to her and inhibited her from walking, when Aidy arrived at the house she made her way around the back, tapped purposefully on the door, opened it and called out, ‘Mrs Crosby, it’s Aidy Nelson from the surgery.’

Nell called from the back room, ‘Oh, come through, love.’

She found the old lady sitting in a shabby wooden chair by the range. Her bandaged leg was resting on a wooden stool. She was dabbing her eyes with a man’s white handkerchief.

Aidy’s heart went out to her. Her infected leg must be paining her something terrible for it to be making her cry.

The old lady asked, ‘You’ve come instead of Sister to see to me leg then? Not ill is she, I hope?’

‘No, she’ll be with you shortly, Mrs Crosby. I’ve brought the ointment she needs to put on your leg when she redresses it. I forgot to put it in the supplies bag this morning. Hopefully the ointment Doc has had made up will help ease the pain for you. It must be bad to make you cry. You do have my sympathies.’

‘Eh? Oh, no, lovey, the pain isn’t as bad as it was now Doc’s got it on the mend. I wasn’t happy, yer know, when yer gran told me she couldn’t be of help to me this time and advised me to see him. Well, apart from the fact I couldn’t afford his fee and would have to ask one of me sons to help me out with it, I’d heard he was young and I didn’t know how I felt about having a young man attending to me. I’d also heard that he was an arrogant young fella, with no niceties about him. Which turned out to be true! He’s very abrupt, isn’t he? Won’t sit and have a bit of a chat with a cuppa, like Doctor Mac did. But I have to say, he seems to know what he’s doing and I’ve no complaints at all about his doctoring skills. I can’t imagine he’s an easy man to work for, from my experience of him?’

She was looking at Aidy quizzically, waiting for her to enlighten her, but no matter how much Aidy agreed she knew it would not be right to discuss her boss in this way. She was, though, concerned to discover what had caused the old woman to be upset enough to cry, if it hadn’t been her leg.

‘If your leg wasn’t hurting when I came in, then what was the matter, Mrs Crosby? I don’t mean to pry. Just wondered if it was anything I could help you with?’

Mrs Crosby patted Aidy’s hand affectionately and smiled up at her. ‘Not unless you can bring my
Albert back, love. I was having a little weep ’cos it would have been his birthday today. I lost him ten year ago. Caught a cold which turned to pneumonia, he did. He was a slater by trade. Up on them roofs in all weathers. Very few slaters live to old age, what with working in wet clothes more times than dry. It weakens their chests. He was in the trenches in the war, yer know, was my Albert. Would never talk about it, though, even to me. I know he was brave. Got presented with medals to prove it. Every birthday since he died, I take them out in honour of him and give them a polish. Only I thought I’d put them back where I always do, in the top drawer of me tallboy, with me underwear, when I had them out last year. But when I went to fetch ’em out again today, they weren’t there.’

Her brow creased worriedly. ‘I distinctly remember putting them back in their box in the top drawer of my tallboy. My Roger was here at the time. He’d come to walk me round to his house for dinner. His wife was cooking me favourite, stuffed heart … Roger’s me eldest. He’s the one who’s paying the doctor’s fee for me leg … he was moaning at me to hurry up as the dinner would be spoiled and his Dorothy wouldn’t be best pleased, and I told him I wasn’t going anywhere until I’d put his dad’s medals safely away.’

She heaved a sigh, scowling thoughtfully. ‘I’m sure
I haven’t moved ’em since.’ She looked up at Aidy, clearly bothered. ‘Maybe I’ve got more wrong with me than a bad leg. Maybe me brain is giving up on me.’ Then she tutted and waved a hand dismissively. ‘Oh, Albert’s medals have got to be somewhere in here. Where else could they be? I’ll have another look for ’em when I’ve seen Sister out.

‘She’s very nice, is Sister Teresa. Very gentle in her ways and most considerate. I really look forward to her coming, unlike I did the doctor before Sister started with the surgery. If I as much opened me mouth, before I’d said a word he’d be looking at me like I was about to commit a cardinal sin, being so familiar with him. Sister now … she doesn’t mind me chattering away ten to the dozen while she’s tending to me. And helpful! Never fails to ask if there’s anything she can do for me before she leaves as she knows how difficult it is for me to manage some chores at the moment.

‘Both me daughter-in-laws do what they can for me, but they have enough to do, running after their own families. Sister very kindly changed me bed for me last time she was here. I’ll be kinda sorry when me leg heals and she’s no reason to come any more. I haven’t got much, but I will see if I can manage to get something for Sister as a thank you for how good she’s been to me. Maybe Sid Wilks has a little silver cross or something that’d be appropriate.’

‘I’ve no doubt he will have,’ said Aidy confidently, picturing the glass cabinet Sid used as his counter which was bursting with bits and pieces of second-hand jewellery. ‘Well, I’d best be off, Mrs Crosby. I’m sure it won’t be long before Sister is here. Oh, just a thought … Maybe with your son badgering you to hurry up, you put your husband’s medals in another drawer and not your underwear one.’

The old lady’s face lit up. ‘I never thought of that. As soon as Sister’s gone, I’ll go up there and have a look. Thanks, love.’

Aidy managed to do her errands and make it to Sadie Billson’s house just as her grandfather clock was striking three. When she left just over an hour later she wasn’t sure if she’d enjoyed her session that afternoon or not. It had certainly been informative and she had learned a lot from the ex-nurse, but picking grit and slivers of glass out of a deep cut in a pig’s trotter that Sadie had made was not something she’d have chosen to do. It wasn’t that Aidy was squeamish or had an aversion to handling dead pig’s trotters, it was just that Sadie had told her that after Aidy left, she would be boiling the trotter together with another for her own and her husband’s dinner that evening. Aidy was worried that if she hadn’t removed all the glass it could result in either Sadie or her husband suffering the consequences!

As she rounded a curve in the jetty and the back gate to her house came into view, she noticed that someone was loitering under the gas lamp close by. Then she realised the loiterer was in fact her grandmother. Bertha was looking very anxiously in the opposite direction from the way Aidy was coming.

She called out, ‘Gran, what are you doing out here in this weather?’

She spun round to peer short-sightedly in Aidy’s direction.

‘Oh, love, you haven’t seen George or Betty on yer travels, have yer? They should have been back by now …’

‘Back from where?’ Aidy queried.

‘Cobden Street.’

Aidy exclaimed, ‘Cobden Street? They know they aren’t allowed that far from home.’

‘Arnold sent them.’

‘What would he send them down there for?’

‘I don’t know. I only got to hear the bit I did ’cos I was stuck in the privy at the time.’

Aidy was totally confused. ‘What were you doing hiding in the privy, Gran?’

‘I wasn’t. I was just in there doing me business. As you know, I was helping Martha prepare the funeral food for the wake tomorrow. Well, yer know what it’s like, Aidy. As yer making it, yer sample a bit of it. Well, I must have sampled summat that
didn’t agree with me, and by the time I got home I was running to get to the lavvy before I had an accident. I was in there when I heard the kids come home from school and go in the house. I was still in there a couple of minutes later when the back door opened and shut again and I heard footsteps crossing the yard that I knew were Marion’s, going into next-door to play with Elsie.

‘Then I heard the door open again and Betty’s voice saying, “Do we have to go? It’s really cold and we ain’t supposed to go that far away from home. I promised Aidy I’d have the spuds peeled for dinner.” I heard Arnold say, “I’m yer bloody father and you’ll both do what I tell yer to! Now go straight to the house in Cobden Street and do exactly what the man says. Hurry and get back here as quick as yer can.” I heard the back gate open and looked through the crack in the privy door to see George and Betty going out. By the time I’d tidied meself and rushed after them to ask them what was going on, they’d disappeared.’

A worried frown was creasing Aidy’s brow. ‘What did he mean by
do exactly what the man says
? I really don’t like the sound of this, Gran. Just what sort of errand has he sent the kids on? How long ago did they set off?’

‘About an hour.’

‘They’ve been gone an hour!’ Aidy started to panic
then. It was nearly pitch dark and bitterly cold. The children shouldn’t be out at all but indoors in the warmth, and certainly not roaming around streets they were unfamiliar with, knocking on the doors of strangers and carrying out their instructions. Just what did this mean?

She cried, ‘I’m going to look for them. Cobden Street, you said? I’ll head down that way, knock on every door in that street if I have to until I find them. Pray nothing has happened to them, Gran.’